Thursday, February 3, 2011

The Dogs Days of Politics

April 21st  and April23rd of 2010 Mr. Fawcett shot and slaughtered 100 dogs....Why, because the company couldn`t afford the upkeep and food requirements of their staff they chose to murder the animals, I wonder where the owner`s mansion  is located, what kind of luxury car does he drive...Maybe I shouldn`t be surprised by the cruelty and greed, isn`t that the North American dream, get ahead no matter what, nice guys finish last, nice guys that feed their animals finish last........I guess that means I will remain last, if the cost of success is having to commit atrocious crimes I`ll pass...

Something was bothering me about this story, not the in your face shock of visioning row upon row of blood splattered dog houses, that`s my first reaction, anger and rage quickly turned to sadness and ultimately the whole story turns into a Provincial cover-up....

The era of 24 hours news, the smallest story that can go viral in minutes on the net, why, why was this story buried when it broke, was it Vanoc and the IOC who ordered the BC Government to keep the slaughtered dog story hidden, another one of the legacies of the 2010 Olympics....The entrepreneur comes with his money buys dogs and attempts to cash in on the Olympics...Maybe it`s just me, I have watched the Iditarod dog sled race highlights, teams of owners and athletes who over years developed a one on one relationship, the world`s hardest race, 40 below, howling wind, blizzards .....Those are the players, there are also Northern first Nations who use dog teams for hunting and traveling the ice floes.....

We have a moral agreements with dogs and cats, we don`t eat them or slaughter them for profit, what tourist travels to Whistler to rent a dog team...What next, pierce the fins of dolphins, attach tow ropes and have Flipper tow us through the ocean, sled dogs from what I have seen are highly trained organized units, owners first priority after a day of "Mushing"  is food, water and rest for the dogs, one injured or hurt dog brings down the entire team, these dogs require lots of protein and water, .....Maybe it`s me, the idea of dog sled tourism is a sick concept and doomed to failure or abuse...

But what I want to know is why was this story stifled from the public, people knew, the BC Government knew about this story, the RCMP must have been informed about this story, it is inconceivable that WCB had a man come in to their office(Or phone) and tell them he is suffering from depression after shooting 100 healthy dogs!

 Why was the story killed, was it a Government decision to not dampen the 2010 Olympic good will and feelings...Was Ben Stewart not notified, he is the minister in charge of WCB...Was Ian Black not notified of this small business tragedy...The BC Government knew about the dog slaughter last year, WCB would have notified the minister in charge, the RCMP if they weren`t notified they should have been, after all, if we are to believe WCB...

WCB expects the people to believe that a man suffering PTSD and depression, who claimed his boss ordered him to slaughter 100 dogs, the man admitted to shooting these animals over two days and WCB is expecting us to believe they didn`t contact the RCMP or the BC Liberal Minister in charge......

There is no chance in hell that this story went down like this, wouldn`t WCB want to know how the bodies were disposed of, wouldn`t WCB want to tell the RCMP that they have a depressed man with guns...Ben Stewart and Ian Black had to know about this story, there are reasons this story was buried, ......

And now the story broke, you can`t keep the truth hidden forever, WCB states they did no follow-up....Darcy Moriarty of the SPCA heard about the story through the media release, shouldn`t WCB have informed the SPCA of this incident back in April of 2010 when the sick employee came in....

Darcy Moriarty was shocked that WCB didn`t inform them or the police, ........

Think of the animal cruelty stories that get released, the frozen dog in Dawson creek, the cat soaked in paint thinner in New Westminster, we hear of cougar sightings, bear removals, stranded dogs and cats, illegal alligators and escaped exotic animals, these stories are daily fare on television and radio and the BC Liberal Government and WCB expect the public to believe that this atrocious(now Viral) story ...They expect us to believe that neither the RCMP, the SPCA or the minister in charge were told nothing and knew nothing.....

The Gordon Campbell Government has some explaining to do, certainly FOI should reveal that WCB informed Ben Stewart and or whatever minister is in charge of WCB about the dog slaughter, perhaps the ministers could tell the public why they ordered the story dead!

And then the story breaks, around the world in minutes, the 2010 Olympic games, the green games, carbon neutral claims by Vanoc and IOC, the greatest winter Olympics ever hosted by the "Best Place on Earth"  and we can`t feed dogs a little food and  "They shoot dogs" in the shadows and only by locals at Whistler leaking the story to the media did we hear anything at all...

The story breaks and the BC Liberals are trying to change the channel before someone leaks an FOI or internal memo that proves that the BC Government were not only informed last year when it happened but ordered the story killed!

And what better way to try and shore up a beleaguered MLA (Terry Lake) than by making him the head of a sled dog task force, ...Shouldn`t the local MLA take on the issue, shouldn`t the tourism racket be banned, the fact that Terry Lake is a veterinarian by training, the task force doesn`t require a veterinarian, the dogs were illegally slaughtered, there are no inspections, no set standards of care, there is no commitment to the animals, Terry Lake brings nothing to the task force, what would Terry Lake advise dog sled companies, inject the dogs with poison to kill them rather than shoot them....

We have a sick, twisted and demented Gordon Campbell Government......Gordon Campbell knew, Ben Stewart knew, the FOI`s will not only prove that the BC Government  were informed immediately after the incident but the BC Government pulled strings to bury the story, think about it, if WCB didn`t report it to the RCMP or some entity he could re-offend, the killing offense would have to be put on the man`s permanent record, if this information wasn`t put on the record someone could be held liable if he harmed again....This story went to high Government.

And now that the story is out the Campbell Government has placed Terry Lake in charge of a do-nothing task force, all in the name of helping Terry Lake fight off Recall, .....Oh indeed friends, Terry Lake`s name will be synonymouse with the Sled dog Task force.

The dog slaughter isn`t the story.....The story was/is WCB and Gordon Campbell attempting to stifle the story from the very beginning, the lame excuses from WCB that no one in Government was informed of a psycho killer who shot 100 healthy working dogs over 2 days, a bloody murder scene repeated 100 times.

The joke is being played on the people, a Terry Lake led task force, coinciding with the start of Recall, this story was covered up, protocol dictates that this story moved up the grapevine, the BC Government and the minister had to be informed,  and to try and now prop up Terry Lake by putting him in the middle of the cover up, .....BC Liberals..."They only cheat when they can`t win"

UPDATED HERE......The SPCA have filed in court against WCB to release the case file from last year, who made what order, who approved the claim and who in the BC Liberal Government was informed at the time and who ordered the story buried.....Stay tuned folks!

The Straight Goods

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The BC Liberals under Gordon Campbell gives a big fat zero in funding to the BC SPCA to investigate animal cruelty. The Alberta government on the other hand gives their SPCA one millions dollars a year to help conduct cruelty investigations. I just about gagged when I saw Gordo on the news saying he was forming a task force with Terry Lake (most deserving of recall) heading it. Talk about the biggest hyporcrites on earth.

BC Mary said...

Good question to ask Kirk Lapointe.

Our old friend, Pointy, while he was the Editor-in-Chief of Vancouver Sun, never seemed to understand why people needed to hear about the BC Rail Political Corruption trial either.

Well, now he's the new Ombudsman for our Public Broadcaster, the CBC.

So ask Pointy why Vancouver Sun said nothing about the wanton slaughter of 100 working dogs. He's the Ombudsman, after all.


Grant: Check date in line #1. 2019 s/b 2010, I think.

Don F. said...

Maybe Terry Lake should have been called on prior to the slaughter to try and figure out what could be done to appropriately deal with these animals.But then again I'm sure Whistler had it's own vet. so no need for Terry.We need Terry now why?? These animals have been dead for ten months what exactly does anyone expect a Vet. to do now.
The reason Terry Lake has been called to do this is exactly as Grant assumes, to shift the recall against him.
They don't need a veterinarian they need a political annalist.
Even the slaughter of these healthy dogs by some whako, even that they turn into political bullshit.
Don F.

Don F. said...

The more you think on it, how was it this guy was given a settlement from WCB for 'depression'. You could literally show up at WCB with no arms or legs and be denied a claim unless you fight tooth and nail with an arsenal of lawyers. This guy gets a settlement for slaughtering innocent animals and covering them in a grave??? This sounds more like a payoff to shut up than a deserved payment of a claim.
More like Basi/ Virk in dog trainer clothing.
The SPCA is now seeking money from the province so I wouldn't hold my breadth on the FOI information bringing anything to light.
Don

Grant G said...

Don F...There is no way in hell that this story was kept from the minister of Citizen Services(I Believe Ben Stewart had that portfolio)

You would be talking about a big investigation, the burial site would have to be inspected, someone ordered this story killed...

Think about the timing of April/May 2010...The BC Liberals were in free-fall, the HST petition was in full swing, the Campbell Government didn`t need another black mark at the time...

And the payment of claiom was to keep the shooter from going to the press...

This story, if someone came into a Government service office for assistance and told the 100 dog slaughter story...

The story would rise to the top, protocol dictates that, a deemed very sensitive file always rises, this my friends was a cover-up failed.

Anonymous said...

A trail of 400 paw tracks leads all the way to Victoria, Gordon Campbell is truly a digusting man, how dare he show his face and tarnish the memory of the 100 dogs? i guess he felt neglected with all the ink going to the 100 beautiful dogs or was it groundhog day ?

Crankypants said...

This story seems to have a whole lot more questions, than answers so far.

Just considering the deed, one has to question the logistics of the timeline as presented. Supposedly this fellow was able to kill 100 dogs and bury the whole lot in 2 days. First of all, the bodies of 100 fairly large dogs would require a very large hole to accomodate their bodies. He would have had to exert a fair amount of time and energy to dig this hole, in the middle of nowhere, which means , most likely, by hand. You also have to consider that this happened in the early spring which means that there was still the good probability that the gravesite was still covered with snow and the ground frozen. Then he has to transport these 100 dogs from the company's homebase to the burial site. It has been reported that some of the dogs were not killed immediately upon being either shot or knifed, and at least one or more attempted to get out of their grave.

Considering these obstacles and logistical concerns, could one person accomplish all of this in a couple of days? Maybe if he were Superman.

Then there is the question as to how Brent Mineer of CKNW came upon this information. I doubt that Worksafe BC(WCB) is subject to FOI requests because of privacy concerns. Did someone at the WCB leak the information, or did the claimant supply it? Was the information he received factual, or embellished?

I know from past dealings with the WCB that they get a report from not only the injured party, but the company they work for as well. It has also been reported that his first claim was denied and after enlisting the services of a lawyer, he got his claim accepted. I don't believe that the timeframe between the two applications has been publicized, but one can assume that by the time the claimant did his thing, felt remorse and decided that he should apply for compensation from the WCB, a couple of months would have gone by, which puts us into the summer solstice. He gets rejected, hires a lawyer, and resubmits his claim. It's not inconceivable to assume that another couple of months have passed. Again, with my experience with dealing with the WCB, the claims adjuster may visit the site of one's employment, but did they visit the scene of the action? Did anyone from the WCB visit the supposed burial site of these dogs?

I can't speculate as to why this story hit the airwaves at this particular time, but I can surely question the information that has been brought forth to date. Ever since the "Balloon Boy" hoax in the USA I'm not as quick accepting an outlandish story at face value.

At this point, I can't see the upside for anyone, or any group to perpetrate a hoax of this type, but I also find it hard to believe that this whole story passes the smell test.

Grant, your assertions may prove to be correct, but until such time as the supposed facts are corroborated by more than we have been presented with so far, I just can't accept the story as it has been presented.

Cam

Gary E said...

Anyone notice how fast the RCMP "located " the mass grave? Under the snow.

I also noticed that the spin has begun in the news. Right after the SPCA said they had a shortage of staff but would have investigated if they had known the dogs would be shot.

Staff shortage or not, someone had to realize that if Fawcett had no other choice he would have to begin the cull.

Anonymous said...

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Governement-SPCA-funding-in-BC/202045023161625
As someone said the Liberals have cut the funding for the SPCA. While in Alberta it is a different story. I have created a facebook page in the hopes of getting enough to "like" the page and leave comments it will put pressure on the powers that be.